Tag Archives: ACCION

I was scanning the 2014 Charity CEO Compensation Guide published by Charity Navigator. It’s an interesting read. Needless to say the numbers were substantially higher than what I earn, and occasionally seemed distasteful to me. “We know that many donors … Continue reading →

Smart Campaign rarely speak in public. They lecture, but dislike questions. This is a rational response given their flawed certification model, which has just managed to praise one of the world’s most vilified institutions, Compartamos. Besides a few MIVs paying … Continue reading →

In 2009 I bought a 5-year bond issued by IFFIm – the International Finance Facility for Immunisation. I invested £5000 and received £5810 a few days ago (with accumulated interest). Not the best return on capital in history, but not … Continue reading →

My friend Beth Rhyne (of Smart, CFI and Accion) recently posted a bizarre article on the CFI blog (i.e. on her blog) in which she pleads for money. The premise is that the infrastructure of the microfinance sector, by which … Continue reading →

[This is a detailed review of an academic paper. For a summary of this blog-post, click here]. A recent paper has attracted attention, likely to garner support from microcredit supporters. Firstly, it was written by prestigious academics from well-known institutions … Continue reading →

Introduction A reading list produced by the Center for Financial Inclusion (aka Accion) was recently re-Tweeted. It is boldly entitled “5 Great Books About Microfinance and How the Poor Use Money”. The list is bizarre to anyone with a remote interest … Continue reading →

What is “Truelift”? What pops into your mind? I initially thought it might be a rival to the Wonderbra; a new botox treatment; an elevator for the elderly or handicapped, perhaps? In fact it is the latest effort to perk … Continue reading →

There’s a fascinating, if not slightly obscure conference coming up in Boston shortly. Ominously referred to as “Extreme Inclusion”, it is hosted by the Fletcher School, Tufts University. What intrigues me about this conference is two of the women speaking … Continue reading →

Readers of this blog will have noticed that I have veiled respect for Larry Reed. He’s the head of the MicroCredit Summit Campaign, a spin organisation that one would expect to dwarf even Grameen Foundation USA in terms of mindless … Continue reading →